1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electronic devices and more specifically relates to electronic devices that utilize hardware registers.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Electronic devices (e.g., integrated circuits) perform a wide variety of designated functions for electronic systems. For example, electronic devices may be used for data processing, data storage and retrieval, system analysis and control, and many other functions. Electronic devices typically include internal hardware memory components (e.g., hardware registers) to define configuration data indicating how the electronic device should operate. As described herein, configuration data may indicate the current configuration of an electronic device, the current status of an electronic device, etc. An example of configuration data is the configuration space defined according to Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) standards (e.g., the PCI Express Base Specification, revision 3.0, released on 10 Nov. 2010 by PCI-SIG, herein incorporated by reference).
Using hardware registers to define the configuration of an electronic device is beneficial, because hardware registers can be accessed very quickly when compared with flash memory, RAM, traditional magnetic hard disks, etc. This provides a substantial performance benefit whenever an electronic device alters or consults its own configuration data. Hardware registers also provide a similar performance benefit when an external system attempts to alter or read the configuration of a given electronic device (e.g., via read and/or write operations to change the configuration of the device).
While hardware registers are particularly fast, it may be undesirable to implement configuration data using registers that can be directly manipulated by external devices (e.g., management clients, etc.). Management clients may be designed and manufactured by third parties unfamiliar with the preferred configuration of the electronic device. Therefore, a management client may implement undesirable configuration settings that reduce the performance of the electronic device. For example, a management client may unintentionally alter the configuration of the electronic device to make it non-functional.
Thus it is an ongoing challenge to maintain the performance of hardware registers in electronic devices while enhancing their functionality and flexibility.